What to Know About Tooth Extraction?

Tooth extraction, though a popular procedure, is not part of your general dental treatment. It is a procedure done when the dentist deems it necessary to pull your teeth. Remember, when the permanent teeth set in, they are designed to last for a lifetime and once they are extracted, they don’t grow back. Before you come for your tooth extraction procedure, here is what you need to know about the procedure.

1. It’s Done Only When Necessary

At Smile Center Villa Rica, our goal is to preserve the integrity of your teeth as well as promote good gum health. Therefore, we only recommend tooth extraction when there is no other alternative but to pull the teeth. Some of the situations that can warrant the dentist to perform a tooth extraction include:

  • Mouth overcrowding because of insufficient space for the teeth to grow. Overcrowding is a serious dental problem because not only does it increase the risk of dental decay, but it also weakens your dental structure. We extract the excess teeth to make room for teeth alignment procedures.
  • Dental decay affects your gums and can weaken your teeth.
  • Periodontal or gum disease also weakens your teeth creating the need for tooth extraction. In the early stages of the disease, we do scaling and root planning to get rid of the bacteria and close the gums.
  • Wisdom teeth extraction is the primary reason for tooth extraction. These last molars erupt between 17 and 25 years when the jaw is fully grown. If you don’t have enough space, the teeth will partially or get impacted beneath the gums. Impacted teeth are a source of great pain for most people hence the need for extraction.
  • Broken teeth can occur after an accident or trauma causing the teeth to dislodge from the socket. We extracted the tooth if the nerves and blood vessels are dead, otherwise, the other dental treatments such as filling can work.
  • If the primary teeth don’t fall off on time, they may need to be extracted to make room for the permanent ones.

2. The Procedure isn’t as Painful

To minimize the pain, we may use dental sedation and local anesthesia. Sedation is recommended if you have dental phobia, have a severe gag reflex, and tooth sensitivity. Some of the options used include oral sedation, nitrous oxide or laughing gas, IV sedation or general anesthesia.

3. Yes, There Will Be Pain After the Tooth Extraction Procedure

Once the anesthesia begins to wear off there will be slight discomfort and residual bleeding. The dentist will place a gauze pad to stop the bleeding and prescribe pain medications to ease the discomfort.

4. Aftercare is Required

How you to take care of your gums after the extraction will determine the healing time. It is therefore important to follow the dentist’s instructions, and here are a few tooth extraction aftercare instructions.

  • Take the medication as prescribed by the dentist
  • Gaggle with saline water to keep the mouth clean
  • Use ice packs to ease swelling
  • Elevate your head to stop the throbbing pain and bleeding
  • Don’t brush the affected gum area

5. A Few Complications Can Arise

Dry socket is a common complication after extraction. A blood clot develops immediately after the procedure to promote healing. However, certain factors can cause it to break causing pain and bad breath.
You may also have swelling, bleeding, infection, gum tenderness and redness, discomfort, difficulty chewing, and pain.

6. You May Need Cosmetic Dentistry

After the teeth extracted, you will have spaces in between that affect your appearance as well as your dental structure. Filling these spaces is important to maintain the integrity of your teeth, and a few options are available to help you replace the missing teeth. You can choose from dental implants, veneers, bridges, and dental crowns.

Schedule an appointment with our dentist when your gum has completely healed to discuss your dental options. We will assess your dental health and choose a suitable cosmetic dental treatment to fix your smile.

Author: Smile Center
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